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Prologue

God Only Knows by The Beach Boys

Someday in the future…

Matthijs’ footsteps treaded silently on the hallway as he hter’s bedrooirl still up

At half past ht

She had her back against a mountain of pillows, a tiny dark-haired princess with an oversized pair of headphones plopped over her ears He entered the room, and she see and turned her head towards his direction

He sht He helped her take off the headphones and bent his head to receive a loud s sweet doesn’t , but this only had his little one giggling

“But you always let me stay up late”

Matthijs winced “Don’t let your Mama hear that, will you?” He noticed the old iPhone on her bedside table as he spoke and asked curiously, “What are you listening to?”

“Grandpa’s favorite song”

His heart clenched “I see”

“Do you know it?”

Instead of answering, he started to huht He kept on hu

God only knows…mmmmmm

“A for effort,” he told her with a grin “I’d give you that at least” And he was being generous at that, considering how she only knew a fraction of the lyrics

Unfortunately, his nice deed only had big doe eyes blinking up at him “Huh?”

“Err, neverconversationalist that he occasionally forgot she was just four Picking up the iPhone, he saw that she had the song on repeat and said gruffly, “Grandpa used to play it all the ti anniversaries, Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, and just about any event that Matthijs’ father could get aith it

And since the old man had been such a da that Matthijs’after…

Re his teeth

Damn old man

Godda just so he could follow his wife—